Fast forward a year and Channing Frye, who is as Portland as they come, had a hard time even getting off the bench for the Blazers. Frye was expected to play a large role this season as a backup to LaMarcus Aldridge. But inconsistent play and a shorter rotation saw Frye log his fewest minutes and game action in his four-year career.

For today's featured guest commentary, the blog turns to the very knowledgeable Wendell Maxey (not quite Mr. Wendal) of Hoops World. And be sure to bookmark his blog, Beyond The Beat.

The sight basically told the future. Channing Frye, Shavlik Randolph and Michael Ruffin were getting in a workout before one of the final games of the regular season at the Rose Garden. As the trio worked on a flurry of lowpost moves, it became clear they had something more in common beyond the drop step and soft touch they flashed.

None of them will be back in Portland next season.

For Frye, that may be a hard drink to swallow. Randolph and Ruffin knew their role at the end of the bench. Frye, however, fended off claims during the season that he was a "role player" for the Blazers, because - as he saw it - a "role player" plays a particular role in the teams' overall success. He wasn't jaded. He was being brutally honest, a trait we've all come to appreciate about Channing since he arrived two summers ago from the New York Knicks.

We all know the mantra. We've heard Kevin Pritchard preach the sermon from season to season: "the player has to fit our culture." And while Frye certainly embodies the genuine, likeable, character-driven cats the Blazers organization loves to boast, this decision comes down to basketball at the end of the day.
Cue Bob Sugar in Jerry Maguire: "It's not show friends, it's show business."

Can the guy deliver the way we need? Can he fill the "role" we envision him in? Is he worth the free agent money or do we spend the funds more wisely? Or is it time for each party to simply move forward to better help their respective situation? Those are questions an armchair GM asks and perhaps even what Pritchard will ask himself in the coming weeks and months.

People will interpret and debate those individual issues differently when it comes to Frye. But the answer is easier than you think.

It's time to cut ties.

"I've tried to show them who I am," Frye said when I recently asked him his thoughts on his tenure in Portland.

Maybe Pritchard did his own future telling that last day of October when management opted not to extend Frye's contract leaving him to become a free agent this summer. Back then, Channing said he wanted to earn the contract. Pritchard explained they had conversations but felt it wasn't a "fair deal for both sides". The Blazers were okay with that. Something says they still are and will continue to be.

It was a tale of two seasons for Frye. He notched career-lows across the board (4.2 points, 2.2 rebounds, 0.4 assists and 11.8 minutes in 63 games) in his fifth season as a pro and logged 19 "Did Not Play - Coach's Decision", including four-straight in mid-January and five-straight in early February. That's one side. Then there were the stints where Frye showed very brief glimpses of why he was the eighth overall pick by the Knicks back in 2005. He went for 17 points against Miami, 15 points and 7 rebounds in a win over the San Antonio Spurs, and logged six other games where he scored in double-digits.

In those games where Frye actually seized the opportunity Nate McMillan gave him, you can see why assistant coach Monty Williams calls Channing, "one of the best shooting big men in the league." He is smooth from 15 feet out and can work the pick-and-pop perfectly. But if the jumper isn't falling, the rest of the holes in his game split wide open. His defense, rebounding and overall toughness in the paint have become suspect at best.

If you weren't paying attention, you'd forget he was out on the floor in some stretches he played. Sad but true. Very nondescript play for a back-up position Portland desperately needs banging, muscle and straight scrappiness from in playing behind LaMarcus Aldridge.

Frye does not fit the bill.

During Portland's postseason run, a national media member visiting the Rose Garden made a comment to me about Frye that I wasn't sure about. Still not too sure. He said he didn't think Frye would last much longer in the league - that perhaps overseas is where he really belongs. I'm not buying that for a minute. Frye simply needs to find the right situation and system to play in (Indiana or Charlotte come to mind) with consistent minutes.